Northern Ireland great Gareth McAuley still feels SuperCupNI magic 30 years on
Gareth McAuley’s career covered the Premier League and Euro 2016 but the Northern Ireland hero counts one week in 1994 as a memorable foundation.
Having led over 1,200 players through the streets of Coleraine on Sunday as special guest at the opening of the SuperCupNI youth tournament, McAuley took a trip down memory lane to his own personal experience of the competition.
Monday’s schedule kicked off a magical week of football when the next generation of players will showcase talents in Northern Ireland over 150 fixtures in front of more than 55,000 anticipated spectators.
Back in 1994, McAuley lined out for the Dundonald Junior League representative side across the Boys’ Junior section – a stepping stone that led to a career in the Irish League, England’s professional system and 80 caps for Northern Ireland.
"Memories from 94...I've been reflecting and digging bits and pieces of stuff out,” said McAuley, now manager of Northern Ireland under 19s. “And then you see bits and pieces and then that gives you the memories.
"The biggest thing for me as a young player was, you're away, you're in an environment, you're out of your comfort zone, you're playing in front of a crowd, probably for the first time, you know.
"Peers and different teams are there and they're watching and it's also the first time probably playing under a bit of pressure.
"So all those things sort of came flowing back when I started to dig into it...boys that I played in the team with, that I'm still in contact with over the years.”
McAuley, when asked to sum up the importance of the experience, said: “In that development part, just not even in the football.
"In their lives being away and being given that bit of freedom to stand on their own two feet and be with their peers.
"Just being out of your comfort zone, it's great.
“It's an experience for all the boys and girls to come and play in an environment which is growing in reputation.
"There's teams from five continents here which means that reputation is throughout the world now.”